PR News survey finds online video is underutilized

A new survey conducted by PR News and Medialink reveals that PR pros aren’t using online video as often as they’re watching it. While 69% of the nearly 300 people who responded to the survey said they’ve watched online video footage for business purposes within the last 10 days, only half have video posted on their corporate Web sites.

So, what gives?

“Video is still an underutilized resource among PR pros – especially those in B2B communications,” Larry Thomas, COO of Medialink, told PR News. “Execs are watching video themselves, but they’re not taking advantage of these cost-effective distribution tools.”

The main drivers respondents cited for using online video are the ability to measure impact/ROI (30%) and financial feasibility (28%). But, Thomas added, not enough public relations professionals are “taking existing video assets and repurposing (them) in addition to creating content from scratch.”

PR News reports on three best practices that are used when preparing online videos:
• Produce compelling content and make it as available as possible, then let the destination
attract an audience;
• Consider ways other than the Web and TV to repurpose the video before ever sending out
the camera; and
• Leverage the platform’s ability to speak to a very targeted, high-prospect audience.

When it comes to online video, Thomas concluded, “PR execs can’t stand on the sidelines anymore. They must accelerate their evolution by experimenting. It’s scary, but it’s even scarier to know that people are talking about you whether you’re there or not. We’re in a media 2.0 world, and video is the currency of the marketplace.”

Here we’ll take a look at the basic things you need to know in regards to search engine optimisation, a discipline that everyone in your organisation should at least be aware of, if not have a decent technical understanding.